1. Technical Field
The present invention relates in general to an improved tab and slot design, and in particular to blindly aligning a tab into a slot. Still more particularly, the present invention relates to a tab and slot design for aligning two perpendicular, planar bodies in three-dimensional space while the tab and slot are not in view.
2. Description of the Prior Art
The alignment of similarly-shaped components may be achieved through the use of secondary xe2x80x9cpin and socketxe2x80x9d hardware that is specifically designed for such purposes. In the computer and electronics industry, locating pins and sockets are sometimes an integral part of the connector systems used to electrically interconnect the components. For example, the connector systems used to interconnect motherboards and daughterboards typically utilize devices that are permanently mounted on the boards. However, the quality of such connector systems vary, as does the quality of the alignment hardware or guidance system they employ.
Some mating components require manufacturing and/or service personnel to locate and align their respective connector systems xe2x80x9cblindlyxe2x80x9d or while their connector systems are not in view. This is frequently a difficult and time-consuming maneuver since the components typically require alignment in three dimensions. The accurate alignment of two perpendicular planar bodies, such as a motherboard and daughterboard, may be carried out with the use of simple features that are designed into the planar parts. The alignment may require additional hardware such as a guide pin and guidance socket or receptacle. Although these alignment mechanisms provide fairly reliable results, they may not be cost effective or available for some applications. Thus, the universal ability to repeatably blind-locate and align two mating components in three dimensions would be a significant benefit to both the manufacturing and field service sectors. This ability is becoming increasingly important as the trend continues toward quick, easy assembly and disassembly of components.
An alignment system has one or more paired tabs and slots. The tabs are located on one component and the slots are located in another component to provide alignment between the components in three dimensions even if the tabs and slots are beyond the view or not visible to the user. The tab is preferably a flat protrusion having short side edges and tapered front edges that converge to a central tip. The slot is preferably a large, generally diamond-shaped aperture with rectangular slits on two opposed corners. The alignment system utilizes the paired tabs and slots to align two perpendicular components.
Initially, the tabs on the first component are misaligned in three dimensions relative to the slots in the second component. As the tips of the tabs move into the slots, the tips make contact with the diamond-shaped apertures. The large size and shape of the slots allow for a significant range of misalignment between the components. After initial capture, the tapered front edges of the tabs slide along the apertures to provide coarse deflection and centering. As the tabs plunge deeper into the slots, the width of the tabs exceeds the width of the apertures and eventually the tabs center in the rectangular slits. The tabs stop when the first component abuts the planar surface of the second component.
The foregoing and other objects and advantages of the present invention will be apparent to those skilled in the art, in view of the following detailed description of the preferred embodiment of the present invention, taken in conjunction with the appended claims and the accompanying drawings.